Date of Award

Spring 5-2017

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Polymers and High Performance Materials

First Advisor

Robson Storey

Advisor Department

Polymers and High Performance Materials

Abstract

Multifunctional polyisobutylenes (PIBs) are of great academic and commercial interest. Current methods to create these materials currently utilize prohibitively expensive synthetic strategies. Recently, Storey et al. reported a novel method for the synthesis of multifunctional PIB which is more commercially viable than the current methods. For this research, the material produced via this technique was utilized to create a thermally reversible crosslinked system using Diels-Alder chemistry. To achieve this, a bromide-functional polyisobutylene obtained via electrophilic cleavage and functionalization of butyl rubber was split into two portions and further functionalized. The first portion of the bromide-functional PIB was reacted with furfuryl mercaptan to create a furfuryl-functional PIB. The second portion of the bromide-functional PIB was reacted with furan-protected maleimide, to create a maleimide-functional polyisobutylene. These two products were mixed and cast as thin films. The films were heated to 125°C to allow deprotection of the maleimide-functional material followed by annealing at 75°C to cure the network by the Diels-Alder reaction. Mechanical testing indicated an average percent elongation of ~300%, suggesting that the material possesses the desired elastomeric properties.

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